Ditching-machine.



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APPLICATION FILED IULY 3.19I-

M. LJACOBS.

DITCHING MACHINE.

' APPLIcATIoN msn :uw 3.1911.

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M. J. JACOBS! mcnme MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED' JULY 3. |911. 3,25%?46. maimed Mar. la 1918.

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12252595746' APPLICATION FILED )ULY 3.1917- Y Patented Mar. 19

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

INVENTO? WITNESSES Wwf/fw d dfwq,

Nl. i.' JACOBS..

DITCHING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED IuLY a. IQII.

1,25%746. Patend Mar. 19, 1918.

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I l By l ATTORNEYS WITNESSES M. J. JACOBS.

DITCHING'MACHINE.

APPLICATION man :uw 3. 917.

l ,259,745 Patented Mar. 19, 1918` 6 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

ATTORNEYS MATHEW J. JACGBS, OF CLEAR XUATER, MINNESOTA.

DITCHING-MACHNE messie.

Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented lila-r. 19, 1918.

Application filed July 3. 1917. Serial No. 178,342.

To all ywhom t may concern 'Be it known that l, MATHnuY J. Jnooes, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Clear .ater, in the, cou ty of e.' right and State of Minnesota, have invented cer tain neu' and useful improvements in Ditching-Machines7 of which the following is a speciiication.

My inventifm an improv l 1g. Fig. 3 a longitudinal section; Fig. e is a section on the line -i-lf of Fig. 1;

lF ig. is a section on the line of VFig. 1, both views looking in the direction of the arrovvs adjacent to the line;

Fig. 6 is a section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows adjacent the line;

Fig. 7 is a detail side vieu' showing the counter-balancing mechanism;

Fig'. 8 is a section on the line S-S of Figui; y

Fig. 9 is a perspective vieu' of the sliding block or carriage for supporting the spade controlling shafts;

Fig. 10 is a side vieu' showing a modiiied construction of drive gear;

Fig. 11 is a perspective View of the drivingl gear detached;

Fig. 12 is a top plan vieuv of a F ig. 11.

ln the present embodiment of the invention, a substantially rectangular appointing frame 1 is provided, in the present instance consisting of channel material, and the trame is supported by pairs Q'and'f of front and rear Wheels, power Wheels e, and a caster Wheel 5, the Wheels 2, 3 and l being intermediate the ends of the frame, While the Wheel 5 is at the front of the frame. The caster Wheel 5 is connected to the frame by a rotatably mounted yoke 6, the wheely being journaled between the armsof the yoke, While the yoke is journaled on the body.

The Wheels 2, 3 and L1 are secured to axles 7 8 and 9, respectively, the axle S being portion of ing machinos7 and has for its object to prol`which the axle is rotatable.

join-nailed on the frame 1, while the axles and 9 are journaled at the ends of supporting bars 10, which have bearings 11 intermediate their ends engaging the axle 8. The Wheels 2, 3 and l at each side of the frame are outside of the frame, and an ende less belt 11 is mounted upon the said wheels at each side of the frame, the said belt forming a trackway for the Wheels.

A motor 12, in the present instance an internal combustion engine, is arranged the front of the frame, and the shaft of the motor is provided with a sprocket wheel 13, which is connected by means of .a sprocket chain 14 With a sprocket `wheel 15 on a driving shaft 16 journaled in bearingsy 17 transversely of the frame. The shaft 15 has oppositely arranged friction disks 18 and 18a, and these disks are adapted to be engaged by a friction Wheel 19011 one of the sections 20 of a sectional transmission shaft. This disk 19 is mounted to slide longitudinally of the section 20, being` feathered thereon, and the forward end of the section is supported by a sleeve 2l mounted to slide on the axle 16.

The shaft section Ais connected to the rear section Q2 of the transmission shaft by means of a universal joint, as shown in Fig. el.. and the said rear section .is liournaled in a bearing on the frame, and in a bearing bracket 21 mounted on the axle 8 and in The section has a Worm .25 at the axle. and this worm engages a Worm Wheel 26 on the axle. lt will be obvious that when the friction .vheel 19 is in engagement with either disk 18 or 18a the transmission shaft Will be rotated. and Will drive the axle to move the machine forwardly or rearwardly. as the case may be. and the -Wheels 2. 3 and Il will travel on the endless belt which forms a trackvvay for the said Wheels. rlhe shaft section 2O is swung to cause the Wheel 19 to engage either disk 18 or 18a by means of a lever 2G which is pvoted to the frame, and is connected to the shaft by a link 27, the Vsaid link engag ing a collar QS journaled on the shaft. The lever has latch mechanism which cooperates with a toothed segment 29 to hold the lever in adjusted position.. The Wheel 19 is, as before stated. mounted to move longitudi- `nallv of the shaft section 20, to provide e variable speed mechanism, and the Wheel is moved by means of a lever 30 which is pivoted to a bracket 31 having a toothed.-

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them to orig l sector with which latch mechanism-on` the lever cooperates to hold the lever in adjusted position. The lever is connected to a collar 32 mounted to rotate on the hub of the wheel, by means of a yoke 43, the arms of the yolre extending above and below the shaft 16. i

`*'Ilhe spading mechanism isl supported by front and rear pairs of hollow standards 33 and v34-,y the members of the' pairs being in alineinent transversely of the frame Slides or carriages 35 Vare mounted for vertical movement in the standards, each carriage having at its lower end a loeariii'gl and at its upper end a bearing 37, and the said bearings are connected to the carriages by webs, which extendA tlnough slots 38" in the front and rear faces of the standards.

A lever supporting shaft 39 is journaled 'in each of the bearings 37, and acranl shaft -LlO is journaled in each of the bearings Levers 4l are journaled on the shaft 39 of the. forward standen-dsintermediatel the ends of the levers, and'v similar1 levers 42 are journaledl on the shaftV 39of the rear standards. Eachlever of each series is connected to a crank on one of the crank shafts by means of a link 4S, so that the leversA will be' vi'- brated when the crank shaftsare rotated:

Spades del and are connected with the rear ends of the levers, the spadesel-l being connected with the levers of the forward standards. while the spades e5 areconnected with the levers ofthe rear standards. These spades depend from the ends ofthe levers, and it will be evident that when the shafts 40 are rotated thev spades will be reciprocated to out into the earth.

rlhe slides or carriages are', as beforeV stated, mounted tov move vertically in the standards, and each shaft 39 is provided with a pinion -lfG which engages av rack bar l It will be 47 mounted on tne standards.

evident that when, for any reason, ,the

spades meetv with an obstruction, the shaft 39 to which the spades are connect-ed, together with its carriagerwill be; moved vertically7 the pinion rollin" on the rack bar. The shaft t0 pertaining thereto will also be raised7 and counter-balancing mechanism is connected with the shafts for returning position'. The saidv counter-balancing mechanism comprises a" weight i8 which is e l-Qan'dtlie other end ofthe oord winds upenn wheel 50 secured to the shaft 39. WhenV the shaft moves upwardly and is rof taft'ed by the Vengagementv ofthe pinion with the rac-lr' bar the cord 49 will be wound up, and the weight will be lifted; Thel Weight tendsv tol move the shaft in` an opposite direct-ion',V and lit will he evident that the f ght at all-times' tends to force the spades "the" ground and to assist in the"l digging operation.

nn'ected to one end of, a cordV The shaft 40 ofthe forward standards provided with a worm. wheel 5l which is en- 4 a worin 52 on the rear section of a l ig shaft 53. This shaft is provided atits forward end with a worm wheel 54, whichmeshes with a worm 55 on the motor shaft. The telescoping shaft is supported' by yoke' shaped brackets 56 mounted on the motor shaft and on the shaft lm-respectively..

The shaft el() of the rear standards is driven by a teleseopings shaft 57 which is provided at its end's with bevel gears 58 meshing with gears 59on thel shafts d0. The bevcl gear 59`of the shaft itly of the rear standards also engaged byl a bevel gear 60 on the rforward endfof a. telescoping shaft 61 which is'providei'l: at its rear end with a bevel gear G2 meshing with a bevel gear oir a shaft Gif jonrnaled transversely Of the frame and; provided )'vith 'a series of `radial arinsG. This shaft (if: is supported by bearing brackets G6 mountedt on the shafts 645 and 40 of the rear standards, and the shaft 57 is supported by similar brackets. v Y

A series of bell cranks 67 is mounted on a shaft 68 arranged transversely ofthe frame which is in front of the shaft 6i, and one arm of each ofl these levers is adapted for engagement by one of the radial larms" 65 of the shaft 64. rEhe other arm of each bell crank is connected toa pair of? spades, that is, to one spade of the front series and one spade of the rear series, by means offra. chain G9 andy al spring 70.- A stop' bar isy arranged in front of the bell cranls` for limiting their forward movement', and it wrhv be evident that when one ofthe radial armsv 65 engages the rear arm of a bell cranl7 the bell crank will be swung'in a direction to pull twoy spades of the two series reary wardly. to loosen the soil already cut.

It will be noticed upon"y an inspection of Fig. 3 that they spades of the rear seriesv eut at a lower level thanthe spades yofthe for'- ward series', the spades of the forward series cutting a certain depth and the: spades 0f the' rear series completing the ditclrV with the next cut.

pair of rolling col't'ers 72V is arranged just iny front'- of` the frontY series 'ofspades, the said colters being spaced apart the width of the ditch desired', and each' colter llU rate grass and the like, so that the ditch will have smooth walls it the top, and the strain on the spades will be lessened.

The loosened soil is removed from the ditch by means of an endless carrier consisting of a supporting frame Z9 in which is mounted an endless apron 80 havingfblades or faires 81. This apron runs overrollers 82 at the ends of the supporting frame, and the frame is slidably connected with Vthe frame 1, by means of a shaft 82. 'This shaft extends transifersely of the frame 1 in longitudinally extending slotsA 83, and transversely of the frame 'T9 in longitudinally extending` slots Se. Thus the shaft 82 will move longitudinally of the frame 1 or of the frame 79.

The lower end of the supporting frame is supported by chains 85 which wind upon a reel 86 journaled on the main frame, and having a crank 87 for operating the same. Pawl and ratchet mechanism 88 is provided for preventing reverse rotation of the shaft. The rear roller 82 of the conveyer is driven by means of a telescoping shaft 85 which is provided. at its ends with bevel gears 86 meshing with the bevel gear G8 before mentioned and with a bevel gear 87 on the roller 82. This shaft is supported by bearings 88 on the frames 1 and 7 9, and the upper run of the carrier is moved in a direction to carry the soil displaced by the spades upwardly and rearwardly, andthe conveyer delivers to an inclined discharge chute 89, which delivers the soil at one side of the ditch. This chute is supported by the rear end ofthe main frame 1, as shown in Fig. Q.

The front or lower end of the frame 79 has a species of scoop 90 for scooping up the dirt and delivering it to the endless conveyer, and it will be noticed that the vanes 81 curve upwardly and rearwardly on the upper run of the conveyer.

In operation, the machine is drawn along the line of the ditch, moving on the belts 11 which form trackways for the wheels 2, 3 and 4. The rolling colters Z2 outline the ditch, cutting through the top layer of soil, sod and the like. The front series of spades cut half the depth of the ditch, each spade being pushed downwardly into the ground, and then drawn rearwardly to loosen the slice of soil cut by the spade, the second series cutting the bottom of tie ditch and throwing the soil rearwardly, where it is picked up and removed by the conveyer. lt is obvious that any number of series of spades may be used, depending` upon the depth of the ditch.

It will be noticed from an inspection of Fig. 6 that there are three spades in each series, and that the wheels d are hollow. Means is also provided for clutching the wheels to the axle 8, they said wheels being loosely ournaled upon the axle. The clutching means comprises cone shaped disks 91, which are adapted to engage with their con- 'veX faces the concaved surfaces of other disks 92 secured to the wheels el. These disks 91 are feathered on the axle, and they are moved into and out of engagement with the disks 92 by means of levers 93, which are pivoted to toothed. brackets 911 on the frame, and each lever has latch mechanism 95 for cooperating with the segments. l Tt will be noticed that the teeth of the segments are ratchet teeth, so arranged that the latch mechanism will slip idly over the teeth as the upper end of the lever is moved inwardly, that is, in a direction to engage the clutch, but will prevent movement in the opposite direction.

1n the embodiment of the invention shown in FiO's. 10, 11 and 12, the ditching machine n ma u q o 90 is similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 9,

with the exception of the drivingmechaf nism. 1n this construction shafts 97 are journaled in vertical position on the standards 98 corresponding to the standards 8? and 34e of Fig. 1. These shafts are held in bearing brackets 99 on the standards, and each is connected at its lower end by bevel gearing 100 with the driving shaft 101 ournaled longitudinali i on the frame. This shaft has a worm gear 102 at its forward end which meshes with a worm 103 on a shaft 104 journaled transversely -of the frame and driven by a sprocket chain from the motor 105. Bevel gears 106 are mounted to slide vertically on the shafts 97 and these bevel gears mesh with gears 107 on the crank shafts 108 which operate the levers. Each of the crank .shafts is journaled at the end adjacent to the bevel gear 107 in the body 108 of a yoke, whose arms have bearings 109 slidably engaging the adjacent shaft. Each bevel gear 10G is keyed to the shaft and since the bevel gear is above the lower arm 'of the yoke it is obvious that the bevel gear will move with the yoke and the crank shaft. At its rear end the shaft 101 is geared to the cam operating shaft 110 and to the operating shaft for the conveyer 111, by the bevel gear connection indicated at 112. The operation. of the construction shown in Figs. 10 to 12is precisely the same as that shown in Figs. 1 to 9.

I claim:

1. A ditching machine comprising a wheel supported frame, a series of spades in connection with the frame, the members of the series being arranged transversely of the frame, a pair of hollow standards on the frame, the members of the pair having front and rear slots, a carriage mounted to slide in the standards and having bearings eX- tending through the slots at the upper and lower ends of the carriage, a shaft journaled in the upper bearing in rear of the standard, a crank shaft journaled in the llO lower bearing in front of the standard, levers pivoted-to the first named shaft, the spades being connected to the rear ends of the levers, al link connecting the front end of eachY lever with a crank of the crank shaft, means for operating the crankshaft, means for swinging the spades rearwardly at-their lower ends when they are in lowerinost position, and a counter-balancing mechanism for normally retaining the carriages at their lowermost position.

2. A` ditching machine comprising a wheel supported frame,a seriesv of spades in connection with the frame, the members of the series being arranged transversely of the frame, a pair of hollow standards ony the frame, the members of the pair having front and rear slots, a carriage mounted to slide inthe standards and having bea-rings eX- tending' through the slots at the upper and lower ends-of the carriage, a shaft journaled in the upperbearing in rear of the standard, a crankshaft journaledgin the lower bearing in front of the standard, leverspivoted to the first named shaft, the spades being connected tothe rear ends of the levers, a link connecting the front end vof each lever with a crank `of the crank shaft, means for operating the crank shafts, means for swinging the spades rearwardly atthei-r lower ends when they are in lowermost position, Vand a counterbalancing mechanism for normally retaining the carriages at their lowermost position.

3. A ditching machine comprising a supporting. frame, front and rear shafts jouriialed on the frame and mounted to move vertically with Arespect thereto, a series of levers journaled on each shaft, a spade depending from the rear end of each lever, the rearmost spades cutting at a Vdeeper level than the foremost, means connected with the front ends of eachseries of levers for swinging the levers to operate the Vspades and movable with the levers, counter-balancing mechanism connected with the shafts for normally holding them in lowermost position, and means for swinging each spade rearwardly at its lower end when in its lowermost position.

4. A ditching machine comprising` a Vsupporting frame, a shaft journaled on the frame and mounted to move with respect thereto, a series of levers journaled on theV shaft, a spade depending from one end of each lever, means connected with the other ends of the levers for swinging the levers to operate they spades, counter-balancing mechanism connected with the shaft .for normally holding it in lowermost position,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for and means yfor swinging each spade rearwardly at its lower end when in its lowerinost position,

5. A ditching machine comprising a supporting frame, a pair of standards onthe frame, a carriage mounted for vertical movement on each standard, a shaft supported by the carriages and having digging spades,

the shaft being mounted to move vertically to permit the spades to yield upward, pinions on the ends ofthe shafts, and fixed rack bars on the standards for engagement by the pinions to cause the sha-ft to rotate'when it moves upwardly, a wheel in connection with the shaft, a counterweight, and a flexible connection for the counterweight winding on the wheel.

6. A ditching machine comprising a sup- Y porting frame, a` series of digging spades arranged transverselyV of the frame and mounted to move vertically, means connected with the spades forv swinging them rearwardly at their lower ends when in lowermost position, said means comprising a series of vbell cranks journaled on the frame, one arm of each crank being connected to for swinging the bell cranks.Y

7. A ditching machine comprising a supporting frame, a series of digging spades arranged transversely of the frame and lmounted vto move vertically, means con- Vmounted to move vertically, means connected with the spades for swinging themz rearwardly at their lower ends when in lowermost position, said Vmeans comprising a series of bell cranks journalcd on the frame, one arm of each crank being connectedV to a spade, and cams engaging the other arms for swinging the bell cranks, the connection between the bell cranks being a yielding connection.

iviafrnnw Ja Moons."

Witnesses: l i

GEO. J. MEINZ,

WALTER ZAPP.

five cents eaclnby addressing the Commissioner of Itatents;l

Washington, D. C.

a spade, and cams engaging the otherV arms 

